10-miler = 10-fold reward

OK, maybe not a “10-fold” reward, exactly, but I did have a great day!

I planned on doing a long run this weekend since we were in East Aurora. I LOVE running there. I have my usual routes, and sometimes I mix it up. Today, because I was going extra long, I combined my usual 4.5 mile route down toward the high school with a new “village perimeter plus some” route.

The weather this weekend was unseasonably warm (upper 70s!) and I probably could have worn a tank top if I’d brought one. It was beautiful and sunny and there was a hint of fall in the air. Despite the perfect weather, my run started pretty crummily…I blame it on the abundance of sugar I had the night before at Pumpkinville (two donuts–they were small!–pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin soup–which was more sweet than savory, unfortunately–along with fries and popcorn and M&Ms after we got home). So yeah, between that and my elevated stress level and lack of sleep (Hadrian never sleeps well at other people’s houses), I wasn’t exactly running on all cylinders. I was tired and with the first almost two miles being uphill, I could feel it.

Must stretch! I always do, and Andrew never does. I don’t get how people can NOT stretch. Turns out I must’ve underestimated my abilities this morning; I averaged about 8:20/mile, which is awesome! After a couple miles I did perk right up definitely felt that “runner’s high.”

I forgot my Honey Stingers at the hotel, so I had to scavenge for portable, energy-packed foods to take with me. Thankfully, I found some nuts and dried cranberries in the kitchen–SCORE! Go Mom Layer for having 100-calorie packs of walnuts and almonds! I threw in some M&Ms to make it like trail mix, but I didn’t end up eating any. In fact, for some reason, I didn’t need more than a couple bits of nuts–must have been that sugar overload. I carried a partially full bottle of water, too. I hate carrying stuff with me, but I hate being thirsty even more.

I had to write my route out on paper–too many lefts and rights! Disclaimer: I totally spelled “veer” wrong, and knew it immediately. I would normally correct it, but I was in a rush to get out the door. I’m not sure now which I would prefer; having it spelled wrong (above), or having corrected it and proving to all my friends that I really AM as OCD as they think I am.

Andrew and I have been craving Charlie’s Diner, and I figured today would be the perfect day to go–the weather was phenomenal, and I’d just burned like 1,100 calories running…

I enjoyed my usual post-long run Sprite–absolute bliss! I fantasize about Sprite while running sometimes. There is just something about how it tastes and quenches my thirst after a long run when water just won’t do.

BLUEBERRY PANCAKES! They have the best, hands down. Super doughy and sweet and GIANT plump berries! Seriously, they are that good.

We didn’t get there until after 12:00, so Andrew ordered lunch: a BLT.

We were hungry!

After lunch, we went back to the Layers’. Andrew headed off to work, Carolyn was off watching the Bills game with Ben and I enjoyed a fantastically quiet and peaceful afternoon in the kitchen. BAKING! (I also threw in some cleaning–we’d made such a mess in just two days!)

Pumpkin bread! (Andrew always hates it when I pose like this… He thinks it looks silly.) Oh well.

I used my mom’s interchangeable pumpkin/zucchini bread recipe. Except that I changed it around a made it healthier. It wasn’t my intention; I didn’t have butter, so I used both oil and canned apple butter (like applesauce), decreased the sugar (who needs extra sugar, anyway?) and mixed white with whole wheat flour.

I made one loaf plain and mixed raisins, oats and pumpkin seeds into the other.

After I started cutting them up, (of course I forgot to take a picture of both loaves still whole) I made a tasting plate of two teeny slivers. I had to make sure they were good…

I assembled a plate for the Layers and a baggie of half-pieces for the ladies who work the front desk at the hotel, then bagged up the rest for me!

Side note: Perhaps the biggest “reward” of today was signing our lease! The short story is that we found a small house in Orchard Park to rent and God has provided an amazing landlord who will let us have Hadrian and be flexible on lease terms (less than a year). I’ll post more details later, but I can say with certainty that neither of us thought we would be as excited as we are about going into a rental! We celebrated with more rewards–pizza and wings! (We are terrible, I know. But really, on what other day can I splurge like this than on a day I ran so much?) We tried out John & Mary’s, a place on Main St. The verdict: Not bad, but no Pasquale’s!

“homemade” homemade hummus

(This one has been sitting in my “drafts” queue for awhile now; it’s high-time I got it out! I actually still have some of the hummus left in the fridge…not sure how long it lasts, but it seems fine!)

How does ‘homemade’ hummus get even more ‘homemade?’

You start with dry beans, of course!

I did just that, for the first time, and I have to admit–I think I like the canned variety better! Well, I take that back. I think what I didn’t like was the flavor imparted by the vegetable broth and herbs I used to cook the beans; it gave the hummus a subtle ‘herby’ flavor I wasn’t used to. I think next time I’ll start with dry beans and use just water.

The recipe I’ve been using is from Patricia Wells’ Salad as a Meal book. Get the recipe here. I LOVE the recipe–it’s light and bright and fresh–featuring lemon juice, garlic and cilantro.

After soaking and boiling the chickpeas with onion, parsley and bay leaves, I dumped it all into the blender.

Add the olive oil, tahini, lemon juice, garlic and cilantro. You whir it around until it’s smooth and creamy, adding water (or some of the broth, if you saved it) as needed. I think it’s the blender (my food processor is in storage…), but I have to add a lot of water to get it to the consistency it should be.

Half the recipe for the dried beans made double what 1 can typically makes, so I’ll have to keep that in mind for next time. Since Andrew doesn’t eat it, I can’t make too much at once.

After blending, top with paprika and drizzle with olive oil. Enjoy!

anatomy of a school lunch

Haha… Anatomy…get it?? I have a test in my anatomy lab tomorrow afternoon and I have NO IDEA what to study… Seriously, we’ve done almost nothing so far and there isn’t a text (miraculously). I’ve been looking over what little we have done… (AND I’m currently watching Grey’s Anatomy–that’s like a TRIPLE pun for me!)

Check out the cute lunch box grandma sent me! She sent one for each of us girls, even before I signed up for school, so it was incredibly well timed. Thank you grandma!

It looks like a lot, and I typically don’t eat it all, but I like to over-pack so I have a snack on the way home if I need something. I eat lunch at either 11 or 12, then have a lab until 3:30, so it’s time for a snack by then, anyway.

An apple, half a sandwich (with natural peanut butter), veggies, homemade hummus, half a banana (the other half is currently mashed and mixed in the fridge with overnight oats), a piece of cheese and two Dove dark chocolates.

On school nights, I pack our lunches and prep my breakfast (which is usually overnight oats) so I don’t have to worry about it in the morning. I would lay out my clothes, too, if I could decide that far in advance…

I have a GIANT biology test first-thing tomorrow morning–wish me luck!